Somewhere in Delhi....

In its bid to increase the city’s green cover to 33%, the Delhi government will plant a million saplings this monsoon. The environment department will rope in schools and residents’ welfare associations (RWAs) for the plantation and subsequent maintenance of the same. Work will begin on July 23 and already, 600 RWAs and 300 schools have confirmed participation. This is an annual exercise for which targets are set for civic agencies. At least 6-6.5 lakh saplings are planted in this manner. “This time, we want to make it a more substantial exercise and have roped in the public to support us in it. Various NGOs, RWAs, parks and garden societies, and schoolchildren will join us in this endeavour. Other government agencies like MCD, PWD and NDMC, too, will have an increased quota for plantation,” said an official of the environment department. The forest department has prepared seven lakh saplings for the drive; parks and garden societies will supply another three lakh. Officials said land had been given to them by the revenue department in various parts of the city such as Salimgarh, Delhi University, Jamia Nagar, Tughlaqabad, Jaunapur, Sahurpur, Bhati Mines, Asola and the Delhi-Noida border. “The plantation will take place in patches, along roads and in parks. We are hoping for at least a 70% survival rate of the plants. Depending on their growth, we might declare some patches ‘city forests’ in a few years. Delhi already has 41 city forests,” said an official. Sources said a special Bhagidari meeting has been organized in the coming week to deal with plantations. The government is expecting more RWAs to pitch in by the time the drive starts later this month. The exercise will finish by September-end. At present, Delhi’s green cover stands at just over 20%, making it one of the greenest capital cities in the world. However, environmentalists and residents have expressed concern over the gradual reduction of this and have accused the government of not taking adequate steps to protect trees. They have also questioned the viability of the proposed drive. “The government is planning to plant more trees, but what about the existing ones? Many of them are dying a slow death due to concretization and insensitivity by civic agencies when they undertake digging work around trees. More importantly, south and southwest Delhi have no groundwater. How is the government planning to water so many trees?” said Vinod Jain, director, NGO Tapas.